GREEN BAY, Wis. – After missing the entire 2024 season with a stinger, former Green Bay Packers running back AJ Dillon is back in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles.
BREAKING: Former #Packers RB AJ Dillon is signing with the #Eagles, per sources.
Dillon, just 26 years old, has 2,428 yards and 18 total TDs. pic.twitter.com/alrvFzyRV1
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 12, 2025
“I’ll be good to go next year, and it’s up to my agents to go out there and go get that done,” Dillon told Packers On SI at the end of the season.
The agents got it done, with Dillon joining the Super Bowl champion Eagles, where he’ll work to be the backup to Saquon Barkley.
“I got to get back healthy and still was in here, still was able to work out and everything – I’m going to go work out after this – and get myself back in the best shape possible,” he said. “I felt like I was going into last year. And so, see if I can top that and continue to go.”
Dillon, who will turn 27 on May 2, was the Packers’ second-round pick in 2020. After mostly watching behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams as a rookie – 124 of his 242 yards came in Week 16 against the Titans – Dillon and Jones formed a dynamic thunder-and-lightning backfield for two years.
Dillon rushed for 803 yards (4.3 average) and five touchdowns in 2021 and 770 yards (4.1 average) and seven touchdowns in 2022. Known for his massive quads and powerful running style, Dillon was an adept receiver, too. In 2021, he caught 34-of-37 targeted passes. He ranked third in the NFL, regardless of position, in catch percentage (91.9) and ninth in yards after the catch per catch (9.2).
However, for all the brawn and muscle, he rarely played like the runner the physique suggested. In 2022, when he averaged a respectable 2.6 yards after contact, his missed-tackle rate of 8.1 percent was seventh-worst among all backs with 100 carries, according to Sports Info Solutions. In 2023, he tumbled to 2.4 yards after contact and a missed-tackle rate of 6.7 percent, which was third-worst.
Adding injury to insult, a late-season stinger sidelined him for the final regular-season game and both playoff games.
The Packers re-signed him to an unusual one-year contract in free agency last year, anyway. A slimmed-down Dillon came into camp in phenomenal shape. However, during a joint practice at Denver, Dillon suffered another stinger.
The Packers placed him on season-ending injured reserve.
Dillon worked behind the scenes to get healthy. When he talked to Packers On SI at the end of the season, it looked like he was ready to play a game.
At the end of the season, after missing so much time, Dillon was asked what he had to prove in order to get another shot.
“I don’t need to prove anything to anybody. I think my tape speaks for itself,” he said. “There’s going to be people who want me on their team, who don’t want me on their team. That’s free agency and the nature of the NFL.
“It’s not really about proving. I can do everything on the football field. So, I really think it’s just about getting there, getting wherever it is, and getting back here, whatever it is, whatever team it is, and just going out there and playing ball. I play ball, I play football. So, the best thing I can do for me is just go ahead and get in shape and get ready to go.”
Dillon was one of the team’s most popular players. Few made such an effort to become a part of the community as Dillon, who was coined “The Mayor of Door County.” As he said, he spent his entire adult life in Green Bay.
“Wisconsin has given so much to me, and Wisconsin’s the place I try to give so much back to with my foundation, with everything that I do, and I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon,” he said. “We’ve got great friends and family, great businesses and great relationships that we’ve built from Green Bay to Door County, down to Milwaukee and Madison. So, that’s something that will continue, regardless.
“I always say that regardless of football, that it’s just a caveat of why I’m here. But the Packers organization has given me great opportunities. So, as far as next year, next steps, that’s kind of beyond me until it gets to that point. But I’m doing everything I can to be in the best shape and be ready to go and be the best I’ve been yet.”